1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention generally relate to user feedback within a graphical user interface, and, more particularly, to a system, method, and computer program product for indicating the default value for a property of an object within a graphical user interface.
2. Description of Background
A graphical user interface (or GUT) is used to bring structure to the interaction between a user and a computer system by providing a program or a set of programs that sits as a layer above the operating system itself. A GUT typically employs graphical icons, visual indicators, or special graphical elements called “widgets” or controls, along with text labels or text navigation, to represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements. Such interfaces provide a natural and intuitive technique for a user to be able to manipulate files, programs, and utilities within a modern computer system without requiring the user to enter complex command sequences.
A property viewer is a GUI component that displays the properties, attributes, or details of an object or an arrangement of data. It is sometimes referred to as an attributes or a details viewer. A typical property viewer presents a table for each object, with the type of the input object determining what properties are to be displayed. The table typically has two columns, with cells in the first column setting forth the names of the properties, and cells in the second column describing the current values of idle named properties. Generally, a property viewer will provide a means of editing the values for the object's properties.
A default refers to a setting or value that is automatically assigned to a property of an object, prior to or outside of user intervention. Default values are generally intended to make application software usable “out of the box” by initializing objects with common or usable settings. In a typical software package, the default values for an object's properties will be set to the most commonly selected options to minimize user interaction. Alternatively, some software packages require that default values be supplied. Generally, an application will employ certain GUI elements such as property viewers that allow a user to edit property information to change values from their default setting, as well as to change the assigned value that is used for a default setting. Property viewers may also provide a user with the option of causing properties with user-set values to reset or revert to their default values.
Nevertheless, the use of defaults will tend to increase errors, as users may leave incorrect default settings selected. The inventors herein have recognized that this is particularly a problem when a user is not aware of whether a current property value is a default value or a user-set value, or of the value assigned as the default value when the current property value is user-set. For instance, where a user is unfamiliar with the default value for a property having a user-set value and the user causes the property to revert to the default value, the default value for the property is not known by the user until the reversion. If the user had expected the default setting to be a different value, the user may prefer to have the property return to the previous user-set value. The previous value, however, may have been erased by the reversion to default, and therefore the prior setting will be lost if the user does not recall the exact value.
Accordingly, the inventors herein have recognized a need for providing feedback regarding the default values of an object's properties to the user of a GUI component that allows a user to edit the object's property information.